Custom Engineering Aluminum Extrusion: Saving Time and Money

You might not think that custom aluminum extrusions could save you money, but in many situations they do. While it can take a bit of work at the beginning to design custom extrusion shapes that will reduce labor and secondary operations to streamline production and assembly, it is worth the effort. Engineering aluminum extrusion requires knowledge of the material, an understanding of the purpose or function of the completed piece, and industry experience, to know what will work best for your custom aluminum extrusion profile.

At Silver City Aluminum, we have discovered that the sooner we can start working with our clients to help them in the development of their custom aluminum extrusions, the better the results. While we do provide standard extrusions for our clients from our extensive array of stock profiles, we excel when it comes to helping our customers design custom extrusion shapes to meet their specific needs. The cost to create a custom die is quick and inexpensive. It can provide you with a clear advantage over having to adapt a standard shape to meet your requirements, reducing fabrication and secondary operations to streamline production and save you money.

Quality Aluminum Materials

In addition to engineering aluminum extrusion based on our customers’ needs, we also use quality aluminum materials for every project we complete. We purchase aluminum billet from several different suppliers, choosing to work with materials that are made from 99.9 percent recyclable aluminum. Our team receives the billets in long lengths, but we cut the seven-inch diameter pieces into pre-cut lengths to reduce waste and minimize scrap. Our cuts are based on the length and weight of the profile. The billets are then pre-heated in a long oven before they reach the extrusion process. The specific temperature used helps to make the metal more malleable and even easier to extrude.

Once the aluminum is heated to the right temperature, the metal is pushed through the custom profile or die using 10,000,000 pounds of pressure. Our team of engineers can help you to design custom extrusion shapes, which are then translated into a steel profile that is used to force the aluminum into the exact shape that you require. After extrusion is complete, the final stage involves the cooling down process of the finished products. We can accommodate a maximum extrusion length of 30 feet, which can then be stretched on our 160-foot table to the desired dimension while it is still warm. Our team uses opposing stretchers to accomplish this. Once it reaches the exact proportion, our technicians then cut the metal into the requested lengths before heat-treating it to harden the aluminum to its maximum capacity.

Complete In-House Production

Everything that we do at Silver City Aluminum is done in-house at our one-stop shop in Southeastern Massachusetts. All of the machines, equipment, and components used in our extrusion system are top of the line. Everything is fully automated and integrated to provide consistent, quality results. We utilize PLC control technology to communicate with our machines through the internet from any location in the world. We can see everything, from how the equipment is functioning to the rate of speed that the process is being performed. We can identify all other variables, including the extrusion recipe and other custom aluminum extrusions requests from the client. We are able to monitor the production of your custom aluminum extrusion profile every step of the way.

We do everything in-house to ensure maximum quality control. Instead of sending your parts out to a third-party for secondary operations, finishing, or shipping, we take care of it all under the watchful eye of our engineers and technicians. Each order is monitored and inspected throughout the process from start to finish, even when it comes to delivery with our own fleet of trucks. We deliver all across the country. Having the ability to control our schedules and routes helps us to ensure on-time delivery and further guarantee quality results. Our special packaging options can protect your parts or components through the use of paper interleave, bubble wrapping, packaging in aluminum skids, and even custom-made boxes depending on your needs.

Interested in learning more about Silver City Aluminum? Give us a call at 508-824-8631 and speak with one of our agents. We can answer any questions you might have about engineering aluminum extrusion with either standard or custom aluminum extrusions profiles. If you would like to design custom extrusion shapes, make sure to speak with our engineers about your ideas for a custom aluminum extrusion profile. Call today for a FREE estimate for any of our professional services or to place your order.